Chapter 1461: The Fury of the Powerless (First Update)
Qin Mu was slightly startled. He looked at Lan Yutian but said nothing.
Since Lan Yutian had already stolen the Incense-Burning Hall, whether he would merge with the remnant soul of Imperial Heaven or choose to become Imperial Heaven was entirely his own affair. Qin Mu would not make that decision for him.
Qin Mu felt gratified. Lan Yutian had grown up. He was no longer that brash young man who always clung to him. He now had the qualifications and the resolve to handle certain matters on his own.
As for Lang Wan, the Divine King, Qin Mu had invited her. Lang Wan had not returned to Carefree Village with Kaihuang, Lunar Heavenly Venerate, and the others. The reason Qin Mu asked her to stay was to help him see Fire Heavenly Venerate clearly, to make him give up hope, and to allow Lan Yutian to take precautions in advance.
Lang Wan's divine consciousness was vast. If it had been Qin Mu, when Fire Heavenly Venerate's mind wavered, using divine consciousness to weave an illusion and replace Lan Yutian might not have fooled Fire Heavenly Venerate. Only Lang Wan or Palace Heavenly Venerate could accomplish this.
After all, Fire Heavenly Venerate was a Heavenly Venerate, and he had considerable attainments in the Dao realm.
Fire Heavenly Venerate stood on the Heavenly River, staring blankly at them.
"Let's go." Qin Mu did not look at him, speaking softly.
The three of them began to walk away, preparing to leave. Suddenly, Fire Heavenly Venerate burst into loud laughter, his voice shaking the mountains and rivers. He shouted harshly, "Mu Heavenly Venerate! You petty, despicable little wretch! You only deserve, only dare, to use such cheap tricks to toy with me! You have no real ability, no skill! At most, you can play these little games! Are you trying to humiliate me?"
His voice rumbled like thunder, causing even the Heavenly River to surge. "Do you think I care about these petty tricks of yours? They mean nothing to me! In my eyes, everything you do is nothing but a joke!"
Lang Wan, the Divine King, looked at Qin Mu, her expression questioning.
Qin Mu shook his head. "It's just the fury of the powerless. Pay it no mind. We only need to guard against him lashing out in shame and anger."
Fire Heavenly Venerate watched their retreating backs, his face twisted. The blazing wheel of flame behind his head scorched the sky, distorting it just like his face!
His body grew larger and larger, and he sneered, "How much have I done for the human race? My achievements and merits cannot be erased by a cheap trick like yours!"
He took a step forward, following Qin Mu and the others. His body grew hotter, flames erupting all around him, yet his voice grew colder and colder.
"In the early years of the Dragon Han Era, what a hopeless age it was! Yes, Imperial Heaven was my elder brother. His death pained me too, but I saw further and aimed higher!"
"I saw the power and terror of the ancient gods in that era. I saw the power and terror of the demigods. To eradicate the ancient gods and protect the human race, we had to rely on the demigods! Do you think that in that era, with only the five remaining Heavenly Venerates of Dragon Han, we could have accomplished anything? Impossible!"
"At that time, Ling, Yue, You, and Yun were mere nobodies. For five or six hundred thousand years, the strongest among the human race was only at the Imperial Throne level. Forget the Heavenly Emperor acting personally—any single ancient god emperor could have annihilated the human race and Ling, Yue, You, and Yun dozens or even hundreds of times over!"
His steps were heavy. Wherever he trod, the waters of the Heavenly River evaporated, and the vapor itself was ignited by his Dao fire.
"So, for the sake of the human race, I had no choice but to kill Yun Heavenly Venerate! Killing him pained me deeply! But he understood me. Only he understood what I did. He never blamed me! Because he knew that what I did was right, that I walked the righteous path!"
"Do you think that in the Chixiao Era, we could have defied heaven and fought the ancient gods? Impossible! In the Chixiao Era, a dozen or so human Imperial Throne cultivators wanted to overturn the heavens? Let me tell you the truth—the human race's strength couldn't even match a single hair on the Celestial Court's leg!"
"So I had no choice but to personally lead the campaign to besiege and destroy Ming Huang! Yes, it was I who saw through Ming Huang's weakness and had the Nether Emperor strike him down! Because I could not allow Ming Huang to destroy the entire human race, to ruin the excellent situation I had worked so hard to build!"
He clenched his fists, staring fixedly at the backs of Qin Mu and the others. His voice seemed scorched hoarse by the Dao fire burning within him. "Was the Supreme Emperor Era impressive? Impressive! But the ten Heavenly Venerates had already become a force to be reckoned with. Even the ancient gods could no longer contend with the demigods and had to fall silent one by one! The demigods were a power even greater than the ancient gods! Yet Lunar Heavenly Venerate and Ling Heavenly Venerate dreamed of overturning the heavens, of overthrowing the demigods! That was a pipe dream!"
"The power of the demigods had already grown to the point where they could easily annihilate the human race! I could not allow Lunar Heavenly Venerate and Ling Heavenly Venerate, those two women, to doom the human race. So I took the lead and devised a plan to severely wound Lunar Heavenly Venerate! Ling Heavenly Venerate's death was also related to me. The Supreme Emperor Celestial Court was destroyed by the army I led. But it was all worth it!"
Qin Mu and the others reached the source of the Heavenly River, arriving at the surface of the Heavenly Sea.
Lang Wan, the Divine King, set foot on the sea. The Heavenly Sea remained calm, with only faint ripples spreading gently outward.
Lan Yutian walked on the sea surface, and not even a single ripple stirred.
Qin Mu stepped onto the Heavenly Sea. At first, waves began to rise, but gradually, they subsided.
He gazed at the sea surface, which reflected the Heavenly Capital. The vastness of the universe's stars, constellations, and billions of galaxies was all laid out before his eyes.
Boom!
Fire Heavenly Venerate's body landed on the Heavenly Sea, half-crouching, half-kneeling on the surface. His hand pressed against the sea, and suddenly, violent waves erupted. Gale-force winds howled, and the sky was filled with thunder and lightning. Bolts of lightning, like swords, slashed down from the oppressive black clouds, crackling as they wove through the towering waves.
A massive wheel of flame hummed and spun amidst the tsunami, with bolts of lightning passing through it, ignited by the Dao fire into thunderous flames of terrifying power!
Fire Heavenly Venerate slowly rose to his feet, the wheel of flame behind his head rising higher and higher through the successive waves.
His face loomed large, looking down from on high at Qin Mu and the others as they walked forward on the sea surface, seemingly oblivious to him. His voice could not be drowned out, not even by the thunder and the roar of the waves.
"The Kaihuang Era was nothing but a puppet propped up by the ancient gods. Kaihuang was a puppet of the Heavenly Duke, the Earth Lord, and the four ancient god emperors. Qin Ye was a man who sought only fame and reputation! If he had been allowed to live, he would have led the human race back to the Dragon Han Era!"
Fire Heavenly Venerate strode forward, coming up behind Qin Mu and the others. Flames raged, burning through the sky like a painting, scorching it black and leaving gaping holes.
"I had just barely gained a foothold in the Celestial Court. I had just begun to accomplish something in the Southern Heaven. And then you all jumped out, one after another, rebelling, trying to drag me down!"
"Did any of you ever consider my position?"
Fire Heavenly Venerate's voice was hoarse with rage. His eyes were bloodshot, and blazing Dao fire poured from his pupils. He shouted harshly, "Every time I established some foundation among the ten Heavenly Venerates, you would rebel! Yun Heavenly Venerate rebelled! Chi Huang and Ming Huang rebelled! Lunar Heavenly Venerate and Ling Heavenly Venerate rebelled! Qin Ye rebelled! And now you, Qin Mu, rebel against me too! You even resurrected my elder brother, Imperial Heaven, and allied with him to rebel against me! What right do you have, Qin Mu?"
Whoosh—
His hand reached through the layers of thunderclouds, igniting the thick, black clouds into fiery clouds that filled the sky, blocking out the heavens. He slapped down toward Qin Mu and the others, sneering, "You all want to rebel, you all want to destroy the excellent situation I have painstakingly built! Then I will send you all to the afterlife!"